It is well known in the art to provide sample or individual packets of toothpaste and products of similar consistency, which packets are frequently called sachets. Typical examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,735, U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,733, and FR 2644141. These sachets may have a single compartment, as shown in FIG. 1 of FR 2644141, or may be a dual compartment as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,260,735 and 6,345,733 and FIG. 3 of FR 2644141. The purpose of the dual compartment is to hold different forms of toothpaste until they are to be mixed, for example a toothpaste component including sodium bicarbonate, and another tooth paste component containing hydrogen peroxide. In these various designs disclosed above, the toothpaste is used by squeezing the container to expel the toothpaste.
Other forms of individual packaging are known. In recently published WO 02/26078 a free flow toothpaste composition is provided in the form of a plurality of beads, each bead containing about enough toothpaste for an average cleaning procedure. The beads are dissolved in the mouth and then the toothpaste is brushed onto the teeth. It is pointed out in this publication that the dental health of children is under threat, especially with the availability of sweetened drinks and snack foods. It is a stated advantage of this invention that there is no residue, and therefore is environmentally friendly. However, with the design shown in the recent publication, parents have no way of knowing if their children have availed themselves of these toothpaste beads as they are not numbered, and as there is no residue after use.
A further form of toothpaste packaging for individual use is shown in DE 42 38 421. This publication discloses that a portion of toothpaste may be enclosed in a capsule which may be opened by chewing or by dissolving in the mouth. The complete capsules may be sold in a set of blister packs, which are individually numbered. The individual packs are separated from one another by perforated lines. In this design the toothpaste is not squeezed from the individual packets, but are chewed. Therefore, there is no residual evidence of use for a parent of a child to inspect to see if in fact the child has used the toothpaste for a particular day.
It is also known to have pills in blister packs which have daily use indicia on the package, as for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,324,995, 3,381,808, and 3,397,671. However, after the pills have been taken from the packaging there is no residual evidence that the pill has actually been taken. Thus the daily pill is entirely consumed, whereas in the design of this application, after the single use of toothpaste has been squeezed from its single use sachet, there remains an empty numbered sachet.